hi all I’m hoping that there is someone who can answer my question.
I have just been asked / commissioned to fabricate a set of 4 tux
shirt studs and matching cuff links. What size should the stones be?
Are 8 x 6 mm too small, do I need to add a shelf of material to make
them more like 10 x 8? Any and all input is welcome. Thanks in
advance.
Its more about the wearer. Most men are pretty conservative.
Suggest that is a question of taste and you should carefully
question the purchaser. 8x6 might be too large for some guys
particularly if you are adding anything other than a bezel. I have
rarely seen anything larger than a U. S. dime in a shirt stud.
Cufflinks can be a bit larger. Findings are a problem too. Most
available commercially are junk, hollow, light and cheap. We have
designed and hand make our own cufflink back simply because the
commercial ones really cheapened our finished piece.
Barbara, A standard shirt button is about 10 mm in diameter. A tux
shirt stud has to fit through the same size opening so I would use
that as a guideline.
In my opinion, 8 x 6 is a little small, but could work.. I wear a
tux often enough, and have made many sets for other customers. The
most important part of the stud is that it covers the button hole.
They are also inserted either from the front, using a T-shaped bar,
or from the back, with a smaller button and a larger back plate. You
can purchase the T-bar parts from a findings supplier. Personally, I
prefer to have a smaller button with a large back and insert them
into the hole from the inside of the shirt. Unless you have a valet,
or someone to assist you in dressing, these are easier to wear.
If you find that you might like making cuff links and studs, check
out this wonderful book: “Cuff Links,” by Susan Jonas and Marilyn
Nissenson, published by Harry N. Abrams, 1991.
Douglas Zaruba
35 N. Market St.
Frederick, MD 21701
301 695-1107 @Douglas_Zaruba
I wanted to say “thank you” to all the people who responded to my
questions on the tux shirt studs both directly and on line in this
forum. The has made my design process much easier and
hopefully with much success. The studs are for my grandson who is
working his way to become a professional sax player. AS he has told
me…everyone has onyx studs, and he would like something
special. So, … much thanks to all.
I’ve never been to a function where men wore tuxedos–not even my
own wedding (no guests). So, the only shirt studs I’ve seen are in
catalogs. Are they purely decorative, or do they also hold the shirt
closed? What kind of buttonhole(s) are required?
Some of my blouses have heavy, decorative buttons that tend to get
lost or damaged during dry cleaning. Wouldn’t it be more practical
if the blouses were designed like tuxedo shirts and the buttons were
actually shirt studs?
Tux shirts have small buttonholes worked in both sides of the
opening, so the stud goes through both of them and holds the shirt
closed. I recently made a set of studs and cufflinks for a science
fiction writer using silver and small meteorites cast in place. I
used the stud backs from Rio.
Janet, yes the studs function to hold the shirt or blouse closed.
Buttonholes are just normal buttonholes, but there’s one on each
edge (is that the ‘placket?’…I don’t sew.) The buttonholes line up,
one on top of the other, and the stud holds 'em together.
Re: heavy decorative buttons: There are clip-on ‘button covers’ which
cover plain buttons, and can be removed for dry cleaning/washing.
David Barzilay
Lord of the Rings
607 S Hill St Ste 850
Los Angeles, CA 90014-1718
213-488-9157